A civil rights group founded by Rev. Al Sharpton, The National Action Network, is demanding that Little Caesar’s Arena, a new Detroit arena featuring Kid Rock for its opening concerts, cancel his concerts.
Why? Because he has used the Confederate flag and also said of a certain national anthem protester, “You know what? F–k Colin Kaepernick,.”
The National Action Network’s Detroit chapter is planning a protest targeting Kid Rock next week, according to the Associated Press.
Kid Rock made his Kaepernick comments at a concert in Iowa last month. He was in the middle of the song Born Free when he opined, “Football’s about ready to start, You know what? F— Colin Kaepernick.”
Kid Rock adopted the Confederate flag to highlight Rebel Soul, his 2012 album. He also toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose act often featured the Confederate flag. Of late, he has not used the flag.
In 2015, the National Action Network’s Michigan chapter, which called Kid Rock a “zero,” protested outside the Detroit Historical Museum, where a Kid Rock exhibit was displayed; the group demanded Kid Rock stop displaying the Confederate flag, according to Deadline Detroit. Interviewed by Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, Kid Rock snapped, “Please tell the people who are protesting to kiss my ass/Ask me some questions.”
Christopher Ilitch, the president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, which owns the company managing Little Caesar’s Arena, told AP he “can’t control what any artist does or says,” adding, “I will always demand that our companies strive to do right by Detroit, our community and its people.”
Peter Hammer, the director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, told AP, “These are moments where you have to act as a matter of character and state what your values are. Everything now is becoming symbolic. That means we have to choose our symbols carefully. Everything is different post-Charlottesville.”